House insurrection hearings will be well worth your time
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a U.S. Army reservist who worked on a Navy base stormed the U.S. Capitol because he wanted to kick off a civil war and create “a clean slate,” a federal prosecutor said Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at the start of the New Jersey man's trial. A lawyer for Hale-Cusanelli told jurors that “groupthink” and a desperate desire “to be heard” drove him to follow a mob into the Capitol. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) Credit: AP/John Minchillo
Hundreds of criminal charges and a thousand hideous details have surfaced from the infamous attempt of an empowered right-wing faction to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The word for this is insurrection.
Still, a cohesive review of the why's and the how's demands completion from Congress, which on Thursday begins conducting public hearings into the events of Jan. 6, 2021. All who care about the American future should tune in starting at 8 p.m. Wherever you perch on the ideological spectrum, be willing to learn more about what happened.
The attempted coup failed but the threat of a more successful sequel lingers.
With at last count 861 people charged in the Capitol attack, those who assembled and incited the mob still have plenty for which to answer, as do their defenders. Federal authorities have charged prominent members of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy related to Jan. 6.
Mortal danger still roils the landscape. A former state judge was slain last week in Wisconsin, reportedly part of a targeting of government officials. On Wednesday, an armed man was arrested outside the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and charged with attempted murder.
Many Republicans and Democrats in local and state election offices acted in good faith in 2020. How can we make sure honest brokers remain in those critical roles?
The Jan. 6 sessions are crucial because the nation’s government, from the Congress to police officers, election clerks and tech professionals, must be equipped to fend off future overthrow attempts. We must understand where we are vulnerable to political attack. We need to know what new rules will ensure everyone eligible to vote can do so, and that ballots are properly collected and tallied to assure public confidence.
This is the very business of Congress. Theatrical or not, geared to November or not, this inquiry has far more patriotic necessity than robotic displays of flag waving.
Proceedings will be telecast live. A second hearing follows Monday at 10 a.m., with as many as eight sessions in all in June. The finale is expected in September. Judge for yourself.
Subjects include the toxic spread of then-President Donald Trump's voter-fraud hoax. Also, how he pressured Vice President Mike Pence to subvert the Electoral College certification over which he presided. Was there a plot to get Pence out of the way?
Also: How was the mob assembled and incited? Why did Trump publicly say and do nothing for hours to stem the violence?
Shamefully, most House Republicans refused to fully cooperate in this inquiry. GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of only two dissidents who took part, declared this week: "People must pay attention. People must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don't defend it."
Like her or not, she's absolutely right about that.
MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD are experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community.
